1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods of forming seat cushion elements, and more particularly to the formation of seat cushion elements through the utilization of patterned forms to obtain a desired geometric shape.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Past methods have utilized patterned forms to determine the shpae of the cushion element. One such method is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,320,108 of May 16, 1967, for "Method of Forming Tufted Cushion Elements" which issued to Bernard Z. Lande. In the Lande Patent a compression technique was utilized to force the fabric and the compressible material into the cavities of the patterned form. A slab of resilient foam was saturated through its thickness with adhesive and compressed to form a facing fabric-to-compressed foams-to-backing fabric adhesive bond along tucks in the cushion. One distinct disadvantage of such a method is that the tufts do not have well-defined contours due to the nature of the compression process. In addition, the compression process places the compressible material of the finished cushion element in a partially stressed position, thus not affording full resiliency to oppose the body weight of the seat occupant. Further, the intervening foam along the tuck lines weakens the bond of the facing fabric so that it can break loose in normal wear.
In typical quilting operations involving sewn tucks the cushioning material is sewn between the facing and backing fabric layers either in its full thickness or in some thick cushioned structures in a partial thickness. As a result the compressed cushioning material provides a working freedom or motion under use conditions between the facing and the remainder of the cushion structure which tends to break down the threads of the sewn stitching and to pull free the stitching to the fabric.
In accordance with the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an economical and uncomplicated method of forming tufted cushion elements without the use of a compression technique.
Another object of the invention is to provide well defined cushion element contours irrespective of the geometric shape or proximity of the individual cavities of the patterned form.
A third object is to minimize stress on the seams sewn between a facing and a backing between sections of a tufted cushion.
A fourth object is to enhance the cushioning achieved with a given resilient material formed into a plurality of tufted sections of cushioning by avoiding prestressing and distortion of the unloaded cushion.